A blood test is shown to be feasible and safe for early detection of multiple cancers in women with no current or known history of cancer, enabling early treatment with curative intent in a subset of individuals.

Cancer patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appear to be at higher risk of severe outcomes, including death, but cancer type and treatment serve as better predictors, according to recent research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting I.

At the time of writing, COVID-19 has spread to more than 200 countries and territories, affecting an estimated 4.5 million people and killing over 300,000. Cancer, on the other hand, is newly diagnosed in 18 million people and takes the lives of 10 million every year.

“We have invited physician scientists who are at the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking care of patients with cancer. They gathered prospective information to understand the effects of COVID-19 on patients with cancer, are testing new treatments, and are making this knowledge available to the global research community, so we can all benefit from their experience,” said Professor Antoni Ribas from UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, US, chairperson of the COVID-19 and cancer plenary session of the meeting.

Patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have a past medical history of pneumonitis are at increased risk of treatment-related pneumonitis (TAP) from immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) regimens or chemotherapy alone, an analysis of clinical trial and real-world data has shown.

Eating fish and shellfish, especially nonfried fish high in n-3 and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), may reduce the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC) and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EA), according to a recent study.

Researchers collected baseline dietary data from 468,952 individuals participating in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study (1995-2011). Line items for fish intake comprised fried fish or fish sticks (including fried seafood or shellfish); other fish or seafood (not fried), such as flounder, cod, shrimp, clams, crabs, lobster and others; and tuna (canned) including in salads, sandwiches or casseroles. Total fish/shellfish intake included all types of finfish, shellfish and canned tuna.

Over a median follow-up of 15.5 years, there were 2,453 incident cases of HNC, 855 of EA, 267 of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), 603 of gastric cardia (GCA), and 631 of gastric noncardia (NCGA) cancers.

Additionally, the ratio of long-chain n3:n6 was associated with a decreased HNC and EA risk. There were no consistent associations observed for gastric cancer.

The present data provides epidemiologic support that dietary modulation of inflammation, possibly through lipid mediators, may be an important metabolic pathway in the development of HNC and EA, according to the researchers. More studies are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the role of dietary PUFAs and upper gastrointestinal cancers.

A blood test is shown to be feasible and safe for early detection of multiple cancers in women with no current or known history of cancer, enabling early treatment with curative intent in a subset of individuals.

Cancer patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appear to be at higher risk of severe outcomes, including death, but cancer type and treatment serve as better predictors, according to recent research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting I.

At the time of writing, COVID-19 has spread to more than 200 countries and territories, affecting an estimated 4.5 million people and killing over 300,000. Cancer, on the other hand, is newly diagnosed in 18 million people and takes the lives of 10 million every year.

“We have invited physician scientists who are at the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking care of patients with cancer. They gathered prospective information to understand the effects of COVID-19 on patients with cancer, are testing new treatments, and are making this knowledge available to the global research community, so we can all benefit from their experience,” said Professor Antoni Ribas from UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, US, chairperson of the COVID-19 and cancer plenary session of the meeting.

Patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have a past medical history of pneumonitis are at increased risk of treatment-related pneumonitis (TAP) from immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) regimens or chemotherapy alone, an analysis of clinical trial and real-world data has shown.